So many readers contacted me last week after this post about low stomach acid that I decided to do a follow up. Low stomach acid can lead to numerous health problems leaves you vulnerable to disease and inflammation.
Most people don’t even realize there is such a thing as low stomach acid because most often everyone is lumped into one category of high acid.
The great news is that you can do a simple test at home to see if your stomach acid is to high or too low. Results aren’t guaranteed with this test, but it’s known to be fairly reliable. You could even repeat it a few days in a row and see if you continually get the same results.
There are certainly more expensive tests available, but this could be a good place to start for you to get a telling story of what is happening in your gut.
Test to see if your stomach acid is too high or too low:
- First thing one morning, on an empty stomach of ideally 12 hours, before eating, drinking or brushing teeth
- Mix 1/4 tsp bicarbonate of soda into 4 oz of cold water
- Drink the mixture (it may taste slightly salty)
- Watch the clock and wait for a burp or belch.
Results:
- Optimal burp time is 1-2 minutes
- If you burp before 1 minute: your stomach acid is too high and you likely need to calm the digestive fire
- If you burp between 2-3 minutes: you have slightly low levels of stomach acid
- If you burp between 3-5 minutes your stomach acid is low and needs to be addressed.
- Anything after 5 mins and you have super low or no stomach acid and needs attention
Let me know how the test went for you and do reach out if you need help increasing (or decreasing) your stomach acid.